Axle



| D. KAY 2,028,394

Jan. 21, 1936.

AXLE

Filed Jan. 4, 1935 Lloyd D. Kay

Patented Jan. 21, 1936 PATENT OFFICE AXLE Lloyd 1). Ke San Marino,Calif., assignor to Kay- Brunner Steel Products Inc., a corporationApplication January 4, 1935, Serial No..339" 6 Claims. (01. 301-124)This invention relates to axles, and particularly tothe axles ofautomobile trucks. Axles of this type usually have a body with across-section combining great strength with light weight. In

the present instance the invention is disclosed as applied to an axlehaving substantially the form of the letter I. At each end of the body aspindle is formed integral with the body.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improvedconstruction for the axle at the point where it connects with thespindle.

The spindles are usually of tubular form, and the axles are usuallyformed of cast metal such as cast steel. One of the objects of theinvention is to provide'a construction for the axle, which will have aform giving it great strength at the point of connection to the spindle,and which has a form that enables the axle to be readily cast; and alsoto provide a construction that will facilitate the support of the coresfor the tubular spindles when the mold for the axle is being prepared.

A further object of the invention is to provide a form for the axle atthe junction point of the body and the spindles, that will enable asubstantially uniform thickness to be maintained for the metal walls soas to insure uniform coolingof the casting, and reducing the developmentof internal stresses to a minimum.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel'parts and combination of parts to bedescribed hereinafter all of which contribute to produce an efiicientaxle.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an axle embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the axle illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, but uponan enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section upon the same scale as Fig. 3, and taken onthe line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

The axle illustrated is of substantially I cross-section, that is tosay, it has a substantially vertical web I that extends throughout thelength of the body 2 of the axle, said web uniting integrally at itsedges to flanges 3 that extend horizontally from the web.

In applying my invention to such an axle, I

5 form the web at each end with a plurality of integral branches,preferably two branches 4 that diverge and form a V terminating: in twoforks 5, (see Fig. 2).

The forks 5 unite integrally with a tubular arm or spindle 6 at the endof the axle, and at the 5 junction point a collar 1 is located. For aconsiderable portion of its length the spindle is. hollow, that is tosay, it is tubular, being formed with a bore 8 cored in the same.

The axle is most conveniently cast on its side, 10 and in order tofacilitate supporting the cores for the spindles, I prefer to form theaxle flanges 3 with an opening 9 that passes vertically through the axlebetween the forks, and this opening communicates with the bore 8 of thespindle. 15 The outer edge ID of the opening 9 at each flange, islocated a short distance from the inner face of the collar 1, so thattwo horizontal ribs II are formed that stiffen the collar on its innerside. 20

In preparing to cast the axle, the pattern would be formed with coreprints corresponding to the opening 9, and these core prints beinglocated on the sides of the axle to be cast, will form recesses in themold to support a core. This core would 25 form the opening 9 and alsothe core or bore 8 of the spindle. The use of this opening 9 facilitatesthe supporting of the core for the spindle.

The width of the flanges 2 adjacent the col lars is somewhat increasedso that an expanded 30 head I2 is formed where the body 2 unites to the.collar.

It will be evident that axles embodying my invention provideconsiderable strength at the junction of the body with the spindles, andfurther- 35 more, they can very readily be cast and the thickness of themetal wall at the head I2 is substantially the same as throughout thebody 2, which insures that the cast' axle will cool uniformly.

This will avoid the developing of internal 40 stresses.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described hereinis only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I donot wish to be limited in the practice of the in- 45 vention, nor in theclaims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

1. An axle having a body with a longitudinal web, a spindle at the endof the body, said web 50 having integral forks at its end integrallyunited to said spindle, the plane of said forks being substantiallyparallel with said web.

2. An axle having a body with a longitudinal web with flanges extendingalong the edges of the web, a spindle at the end of the body, said webhaving branches forming a pair of integral forks integrally connectingto the inner end of the spindle, the plane of said forks beingsubstantially parallel with said web.

3. An axle having a body with alongitudinal web with flanges extendingalong the edges of the web, a tubular spindle at the end of the body,said web having branches forming a pair of integral forks integrallyconnecting to the inner end of the spindle, said body having an openingin the same between the said forks communicating with the bore of thetubular spindle.

4. An axle having a body with a longitudinal web and having flangesextending longitudinally along the edges of the web, a collar at the endof the body, said web having forks branching off therefrom, each forklying in a plane substantially parallel with the web, and integrallyconnecting to said collar, and a spindle beyond the collar and integraltherewith.

5. An axle having a body with a longitudinal web and having flangesextending longitudinally along the edges of the web, a collar at the endof the body, said web having forks branching off therefrom andintegrally connecting to said collar, and, a spindle beyond the collarand integral therewith, said spindle having a bore therein extendinginwardly and said forks having an opening extending through the bodybetween the same and communicating with said bore.

6. An axle having a body with a longitudinal vertical web and having alongitudinal substantially horizontal flange at each edge of the web, acollar adjacent the end of the body integrally connecting with theflanges, said web branching into a pair of integral forks adjacent tothe collar and integrally connecting to the collar, said body having atransverse opening between said forks; and a spindle beyond the collarintegral with the same and having a bore communicating with saidtransverse opening.

LLOYD D. KAY.

